GIOVANNI ANDREA SIRANI (Bologna, 1610 - 1670) Penitent... Lot 59

GIOVANNI ANDREA SIRANI (Bologna, 1610 - 1670) Penitent Saint Peter Oil on canvas, 72X58.5 cm. A leading artist in Bolognese painting of the Baroque age, Giovanni Andrea Sirani was one of Guido Reni's best pupils and collaborators, also endowed with a remarkable graphic ability, so much so that the master entrusted him with the task of preparing and sketching works. Malvasia himself informs us of a relevant role within the workshop, especially because of his astonishing ability to counterfeit the master's style, enabling him to finish his works left unfinished after his death in 1642. This technical skill, combined with felicity of brushwork, in fact, often led to understandable attributive errors. In our case, Sirani is credited with the sophisticated construction of the image that well evokes the canvases of Reni's extreme activity, and of particular beauty are the spreads of the flesh tones that express a diaphanous density and a pictorial conduction that calibrates the thicknesses evoking volumes and shadows to the best effect, facilitating the reading of the sophisticated drawing of hands and forms. Reference bibliography: F. Frisoni, in La scuola di Guido Reni, edited by E. Negro and M. Pirondini, Modena 1992, pp. 365-381 M. Pulini, Gianandrea Sirani, a history to be rewritten: chamber and altar painting; news and updates, in About Art online February 1, 2020 (https://www.aboutartonline.com/gianandrea-sirani-una-storia-da-riscrivere-la-pittura-da-camera-e-daltare-novita-e-aggiornamenti/)